First signs of old-growth structure and composition of an oak forest after four decades of abandonment (original) (raw)
Tree species composition and historic changes of the Central European oak/beech region
Rüther, C. and Walentowski, H., 2008. Tree species composition and historic changes of the Central European oak/beech region. In: Floren, A. and Schmidl, J. (eds): Canopy arthropod research in Europe, pp. 61-88, bioform entomology, Nuremberg., 2008
After the ending of the final glaciations, tree species re-immigrated to Central Europe from their southern refuges. Fagus sylvatica (beech) was the last principal tree species to arrive at the northernmost areas of the Central European region, viz. northwestern Germany, Denmark and southern Sweden. Due to their high competitive ability, F. sylvatica plays a predominant role in Central European Fagion-forest communities, whose native ranges are lowlands and low mountain ranges. Depending on local soil and climatic conditions, other tree genera are included such as Quercus (oak), Picea (spruce) and Abies (¿ r) (both Pinaceae). Indeed, only under exceptional environmental conditions is the competitive ability of F. sylvatica limited in such a manner that other tree species may predominate. Even rare occurrences of one associated tree species within beech forests may assure a long habitat tradition for specialised biocoenoses. Since the Neolithic period, human activities interfered with the forest-covered regions of Central Europe. The forests were changed sig-ni¿ cantly by multiple historical uses and management techniques. Anthropogenic transformation of the forests was driven by wood pasture, pollarding techniques, litter utilisation, coppicing, coppicing with standards and high-forest systems (selective and clear-cutting). These had crucial effects on tree species composition as well as the stand climate of the forests. They changed the spatial and temporal structures of the stands as well as the cycling of soil matter. Another effect of human activities was drastic reduction of forest cover. The unwitting transition of tree species composition finished in the Middle Ages. Since then, human interference has concentrated on targeted timber selection. These alterations make clear that structural components and site conditions of commercial forests deviate considerably from those of the original natural forests. Modern management methods have to consider biodiversity and the degree of naturalness with regard to the tradition of old-growth trees, natural tree species combination and natural ground layer vegetation. Important standards for a sustainable forestry combined with conservation of biodiversity are heterogeneity, complexity and scale.
Acta Biologica Plantarum Agriensis
Serious oak decline was first detected in 1979-80 in a mixed sessile oak-Turkey oak forest (Quercetum petraeae-cerridis Soó 1963). This decline resulted important structural changes in the understory shrub layer. Despite of this, relatively few studies deal with shrub communities and shrub layer dynamics after oak death. The goals of this research were to determine the conditions of low shrubs and analyse the possible changes in this layer after 5 decades from the beginning of Síkfőkút research. Specimens which were lower than 1.0 m in height were categorized as low shrubs in the shrub community. In 1972 and in 2022, 16-17 native low shrub species were observed in the understory; 15 species were present continuously in the forest. The density of low shrubs was 87401 and 17317 specimen ha-1. The most common low shrub species was Ligustrum vulgare and 5 decades later Quercus petraea with 24.1% and 37.8% ratio. The mean height and mean diameter of low shrub species changed among 10.3-67.0 cm and 1.5-7.5 mm. The mean cover of these shrubs fluctuated between 35 cm 2 and 2026 cm 2 based on the two measured year. Our results suggest that the low shrub layer responded negatively to the biotic and abiotic factors under 5 decades; this is especially true to the density, cover and diversity indices of species.
Forest Ecology and Management, 2009
The accumulation of dead wood and its characteristics are analysed in forests that have been withdrawn from regular silvicultural management and left unmanaged between 10 and 150 years ago. These forests are dominated by beech (Fagus sylvatica) and oak (Quercus robur and Quercus petraea) and located in the lowlands of Northwestern and Central Europe. The total volumes of dead wood ranged from 6 to nearly 500 m 3 ha À1 , with a median value of 53 m 3 ha À1. The average accumulation rate ranged from <0.1 to 19 m 3 ha À1 year À1. Variation was significantly higher in beech-than in oak-dominated forests. The variables and factors influencing dead wood volumes and accumulation rates were tree genus, stand age at the time of the onset of nonintervention, and the interaction between geographical location and tree genus. In beech-dominated stands, the ratio of lying to total dead wood was more or less constant at 75%; in oak-dominated stands, this ratio was related to the length of time non-intervention had occurred, rising from <50% in recently assigned areas to 75% in the long-established sites. It is concluded that in the absence of major disturbances, dead wood accumulation in man-made forests left to develop freely is a slow process. It may take a very long time to achieve the average amount and dynamic steady state of dead wood as described for virgin forests in Central Europe.
Understory Condition in an Oak Forest After 4 Decades for Oak Decline in Hungary
2019
At the study area serious oak decline was detected from 1979-80 in a mixed oak forest, an area covered by a sessile oak–Turkey oak forest (Quercetum petraeae-cerridis). The shrub community was divided into low (lower than 1.0 m in height) and high shrub layer (≥ 1.0 m). The goals of this study were to determine the conditions of shrub layer and analyse the possible changes in the shrub layer after 4 decades of the serious oak decline. In 2017, 17 shrub species were continuously observed in the understory. The density of shrub layer was 25,103 specimens ha-1. The significant part of shrubs lived (91.6%) in the low shrub layer, with only a small part of them (8.4%) forming the high shrub layer. The most common species of the shrub community was Euonymus verrucosus with 1989 shoots in the monitoring plot. The mean height and mean diameter of the high shrub species changed between 1.29-8.74 m and between 0.81-9.61 cm. The mean cover of the high shrub species changed between 0.56 m2 and ...
Continuity and change in the vegetation of a Central European oakwood
The Holocene, 2012
The issue of continuity in deciduous oakwood vegetation has been in the forefront of woodland ecological studies for many decades. The two basic questions that emerge from existing research are whether or not oakwoods can be characterized by long-term stability and what may be the driving forces of the observed stability or change. To answer these questions in a well-defined case study, we examined the history of a large subcontinental oakwood (Dúbrava) in the southeastern Czech Republic with interdisciplinary methods using palaeoecological and archival sources. Palaeoecology allowed us to reconstruct the vegetation composition and fire disturbances in Dúbrava in the past 2000 years, while written sources provided information about tree composition and management from the 14th century onwards. The pollen profiles show that the present oakwood was established in the mid-14th century with an abrupt change from shrubby, hazel-dominated vegetation to oak forest. This change was most pro...
Nature Conservation, 2008
In the Spała Forests stand with above 140 years old oaks occupies 226 ha, it is about 1.5 % of forests surface. Almost 40% of this stand is protected within nature reserves. For this study, the best-preserved oak-stands localised in the timber forests (constituting next 40 %) were selected. In the given area were found: 287 species of vascular plants, 33 species of mosses and 2 species of liverworts. The population size of 50 endangered and protected plants was estimated. The identification of degenerate forms of plant communities indicates the impact of forest management on the flora. The most important factor responsible for degeneration is the planting of the Scotch pine. At present it is manifested by the domination of coniferous forests species and the rapid growth of expansive species in the herb-layer. The planting of European beech is also unfavourable for the oak-forests flora. The role of pinetization should decline (cutting of old pines, regeneration) in the future, but the planting of beech is going to have a dominate influence on the degeneration of old oak forests.
Instrumental measurement of health status of old natural sessile oak stands
Studia botanica hungarica
In Hungary increasing emphasis is put on the research regarding the naturalness of forests, because the so-called biosphere crisis-the global level degradation of our biotic environment-seriously aff ects the forest communities. Th is process can most spectacularly manifest itself in the decrease of forest size. Th e health status of forest stands is usually measured by visual measurements, but it is hard to eliminate subjective errors. Because of these, we carried out instrumental measurement with a 3D Acoustic Tomograph in the Kőszeg Mountains, the Börzsöny Mountains and in the Zemplén Mountains. Th e monitoring of health status was made in sessile oak stands which were older than 100 years in 2015. We found the best health status in the stands of the Kőszeg Mts. Th e maximum level of decay was found in the higher layers in relation to ground level because of the frost damage destroying the stands of the Börzsöny Mts. On the other hand, we experienced the highest decay in the lower levels of trunks regarding stands of the Zemplén Mts; this level of deterioration was continuously reduced towards the higher levels. Th e two diff erent trends are attributable to the site conditions and the origin of the stands.
Dead wood and stand structure - relationships for forest plots across Europe
iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, 2014
© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry © SISEF http://www.sisef.it/iforest/ 269 iForest (2014) 7: 269-281 Dead wood and stand structural parameters were sampled in eleven countries using standardized methods at about 90 intensive forest monitoring sites across large parts of Europe. Besides descriptions and correlation analyses of dead wood and stand structure parameters, a joint evaluation of both fields was performed by principal component analysis (PCA). The extracted principal components were subsequently regressed against important numerical and categorical site-related parameters like soil pH, altitude, or forest type. Dead wood volumes varied largely across plots, however, 77 percent of them had volumes below 25 cubic meter per hectare. While all fractions of dead woodexcept cut stumps -reveal high intercorrelation, different aspects of stand structure varied more independently. Clark-Evans index, number of tree species and standard deviation of tree trunk diameters revealed as most selfcontained. The 1 st PCA axis covered 46 percent of the total variance and was mostly loaded by total dead wood volume denoting it as the feature differentiating forests most. The 2 nd axis was primarily loaded by tree species diversity together with stem density and the Clark-Evans index. On the 3 rd axis diameter differentiation of trees together with the volume of cut stumps prevailed, while the 4 th was mainly related to the decay class of woody debris. Bivariate ex post analyses revealed country as a significant predictor of all PCA axes, underlining national forest legislations and management rules as crucial for all investigated structural features of forests. Forest type was related only to the 3 rd and 2 nd axis. Only the 3 rd axis revealed significant relationships with some ecological site factors (age, number of tree layers, latitude, altitude). The outcome underlines the significance of nationally enacted forest legislations for both important structural and biodiversity-relevant features of forest ecosystems and encourages similar approaches with data from national forest inventories or monitoring systems.
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2021
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European Journal of Forest Research
The oak (Quercus robur L.) regeneration intensity was assessed in the core area of the Białowieża National Park (BNP) in Poland with respect to the selected ecological factors. The emphasis was placed on the response of oak regeneration to disturbances, including the large-scale dieback of spruce stands. Defining their effect could help predicting the role of oak in naturally developing lowland forest ecosystems in the European hemiboreal zone. The results of the study challenge the opinion that the ‘lime-oak-hornbeam forest’ is a ‘climax’ community, confirming a very poor regeneration represented by only two saplings taller than 0.5 m per hectare. By contrast, in spruce-dominated communities, from 49 to 848 taller saplings per hectare were found. The occurrence of saplings was associated with discontinuous canopy of late seral stage of stands, as well as with large gaps. Most of the best quality grown-up oak saplings developed in the immediate neighbourhood of spruce logs. The results of the research indicate that ‘lime-oak-hornbeam forest’ (Tilio-Carpinetum) should be rather perceived as a transient community, evolved from relict, culturally modified, oak woodlands. Because spruce had become a dominating species only after abandoning in mid-1800s the historical regime of anthropogenic disturbances (involving frequent forest fires), the observed phenomena related to the disintegration of spruce stands had probably no precedent over the last 500 years. To confirm whether the massive decline of spruce stands will finally result in the successful establishment of the new canopy oak generation, both in Białowieża and other forests of hemiboreal zone, further research is needed.
Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca
The decline phenomenon of stands can be defined as the totality of effects that damage the normal vegetation state of trees and stands. There are two types of decline, the acute one, with fast development, and the chronical one, with slow development in space and time. The accurate capture of the phenomenon has direct implications for the forest management measures. A first step in this direction is the analysis of the development type and of its dynamics. Forests which have Quercus species in composition are affected more by this phenomenon. There were identified oak stands presenting decline phenomenon in 9 Forest Districts in Northwestern Transylvania and 22 experimental plots were analyzed. These plots were located in middle aged stands that were affected in different ways. The study was performed during 2013-2015 and focused on crown level assessments of trees, taking into consideration the shape and size, defoliations, percentage of dead or missing slender branches, number of ...
AGROFOR, 2020
Long-term structural dynamics of shrub layer of temperate oak forest communities were not extensively reported in published studies. The serious oak decline was first reported in 1979-80 and nowadays 63.0% of canopy oak trees died in a forest stand. The data were used to obtain (1) quantitative information on shrub layer growth, including height (H) and shoot diameter (DSH) condition and basal area (BA) values; (2) structural information on foliage cover rate of the shrub layer, mean cover of some shrub species; (3) comprehensive description from the ecological processes in the shrub layer in the last 45 years and our objective was (4) to analyze the possible effects of oak decline on the shrub growth dynamics. The following measurements were carried out in the 48 × 48 m plot: shoot height, shoot diameter, basal area and foliage cover of each individuals in the high shrub layer. Correlation analysis confirmed that significant positive relations were between mean H, mean DSH of the d...
Characteristic features of European woodland include both a reduction in natural forest areas and an increase in former agricultural areas occupied by secondary woodland. The management of these areas is challenging in terms of nature conservation, agricultural and forestry management and policy. The aim of our study was to reconstruct the history and to document the current tree stand structure for a secondary oak-beech woodland in Hungary. Towards the end of the 1800s, this area which was once almost completely occupied by a continuous forest, had been transformed into a wood-pasture. As a result of its gradual abandonment, the closed forest stand of the pasture increased from 10 to 52% between 1963 and 2005. The most characteristic feature of this woodland is the abundance of large trees. Globally, the number of large and ancient trees is rapidly diminishing. Therefore preserving and maintaining such areas, where large trees could live, is an essential management task.
Forests, 2018
Old-growth forests are a unique source of information for close-to-nature silviculture. In the National Nature Reserve Dobročský prales (Slovakia), a remnant of mixed old-growth forests of the Western Carpathians, we analyzed changes in tree species composition, stand structure, and creation and closure of canopy gaps. The results were based on data from forest inventories of an entire reserve conducted in 1978 and 2015, extended by detailed measurements in a research plot of 250 × 250 m. We observed the expansion of common beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) at the expense of conifers (Abies alba Mill., Picea abies L. Karst.) in all layers of the stand. Due to a lack of conifers in the category of saplings >130 cm and an abundance of coniferous deadwood, we hypothesize that this development will lead to the dominance of beech. All development stages revealed a reverse J-shaped diameter structure; however, they differed in the majority of basic stand characteristics (e.g., growing stock, basal area, tree density, deadwood volume). Most of the structural indices did not differ between development stages, confirming a relatively high degree of structural differentiation throughout the development cycle. The total gap area reached 18%, with the dominance of small gaps ≤100 m 2. Nevertheless, only canopy gaps >100 m 2 formed by the mortality of three or more trees were of higher importance for the extensive establishment of natural regeneration.
Old-growth structural elements in a strict reserve and commercial forest landscape in Estonia
Forest Ecology and Management, 2005
Although 7% of forest land is strictly protected in Estonia, it is unknown whether the reserves and the surrounding timberproduction areas provide enough habitat for viable populations of threatened species. We mapped large broad-leaved trees, remnant trees, cavity trees, coarse woody debris (CWD; i.e., logs and snags) and windthrows on randomly located transects in a typical protected and adjacent commercial forest area. As generally in Estonia, the reserve lacked structurally rich mesic forests, had been clear-cut at least once within 200 years and, as a result, only snags with exposed wood were more numerous there (on average, 16.2 AE 10.5 snags ha À1 ) than in the managed landscape (3.4 AE 1.1 snags ha À1 ). The latter had more logs (17.6 AE 5.0 ha À1 ), including those large and well-decayed, and broad-leaved trees (3.6 AE 2.1 ha À1 ) than the reserve (7.8 AE 4.1 and 0.6 AE 0.5 ha À1 , respectively). The average volumes of CWD were 6.2 AE 2.2 m 3 ha À1 in the reserve and 9.0 AE 2.4 m 3 ha À1 in the commercial area. When forest age and type were taken into account, CWD volumes were on average 33% and the density of cavity trees 42% lower in the timber-harvesting area, but the reduction was statistically non-significant. In either landscape, different structural elements were not aggregated to the same sites, so that 10% of generally best sites contained less than 30% of the elements. We conclude that the present quality of Estonian forest reserves is low because they lack structurally rich old mesic stands and have been protected for too short time. Restoration of reserve forests, protection of additional productive forests, and close-to-nature management approaches in commercial areas are the major challenges for the preservation of forest biodiversity in Estonia. # A. Lõhmus et al. / Forest Ecology and Management 216 (2005) 201-215 203 Fig. 1. Location of the study area and the survey transects (straight N-S lines). Forest land is dashed and the border of the Alam-Pedja Nature Reserve is marked with the broken line.
South-east European forestry
have in 2010 jointly proposed a scientific experiment on permanent experimental plots called "The Impact of the Intensity of Silvicultural Tending on Pedunculate Oak Dieback". The basis for setting up experimental plots were the results of the analysis of surface structure of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) stands of Spačva Forest and its projection area for the next 140 years, and the related issues of regeneration of old and tending of young stands in conditions of increasing climate change. In the future this will present a major problem for forestry practice in silvicultural operations, both in terms of workers and materials. Materials and Methods: The experiment was conducted in the area of Forest Administration Vinkovci, Forest Office Vinkovci, Management Unit Kunjevci, in three subcompartments of different age (10, 15 and 20 years) where different intensities tending operations of cleaning were conducted. A total of 20 plots were established by using the already established network of silvicultural lines and paths, while the position was recorded by a GPS device. On each plot 30 pedunculate oak trees were permanently marked (600 trees in total). Tree selection was based on spatial and phenotypic criteria. Results: The initial measurement on permanent experimental plots shows unsatisfactory number of pedunculate oak trees along with the high number of common hornbeam trees. The overall basal area has a tendency of continuous growth in relation to the age of experimental plots. The value of crown length in relation to the total height of pedunculate oak trees is 74.3% in subcompartment 32A, 53.5% in subcompartment 34 A, and 54.3% in subcompartment 38A. Trunk length, i.e. trunk purity also increases with age; in subcompartment 32A on average it amounts to 1.35 m, in subcompartment 34A to 3.28 m and in subcompartment 38A to 4.85 m. Conclusion: After conducting periodic surveys of the established plots by the year 2020 enough data should be collected whose processing, analysis and interpretation would provide guidelines for improving the future management of young pedunculate oak stands.
Forest stand growth dynamics in Central Europe have accelerated since 1870
Forest ecosystems have been exposed to climate change for more than 100 years, whereas the consequences on forest growth remain elusive. Based on the oldest existing experimental forest plots in Central Europe, we show that, currently, the dominant tree species Norway spruce and European beech exhibit significantly faster tree growth (þ32 to 77%), stand volume growth (þ10 to 30%) and standing stock accumulation (þ6 to 7%) than in 1960. Stands still follow similar general allometric rules, but proceed more rapidly through usual trajectories. As forest stands develop faster, tree numbers are currently 17–20% lower than in past same-aged stands. Self-thinning lines remain constant, while growth rates increase indicating the stock of resources have not changed, while growth velocity and turnover have altered. Statistical analyses of the experimental plots, and application of an ecophysiological model, suggest that mainly the rise in temperature and extended growing seasons contribute to increased growth acceleration, particularly on fertile sites